tedeeoo wrote:Wholeheartedly agree on the Randall solid-state stuff, great amps. The biggest reason EVH went to Peavey was because his Marshalls at that time were really unreliable. One thing about Peavey amps is that they have, much like Mesa (in many ways), always been built like tanks. The VTM's were really a step up for Peavey as far as a true rock-n-roll amp.

As far a Doug Aldrich goes, he is just a first class guy all the way, he took so much time with us at both shows, really went out of his way I thought. My son (and me) will never forget the expierience. He is definately my favorite guitar player right now, great tone, great chops, great stage presence, he's got it all. Doug, apparently has 2 of the best Marshalls on the planet, both for tone and reliability, although I know he has gone through several output transformers. I know that Doug is real big on taking care of his stuff, and you have to be, even with amps that are more road-worthy a little attention to detail goes along way in making sure they last.

100 percent with you on Ronnie Le Tekro, monster player, some of the most bad-ass riffs of all time were written by this man. And, he played probably my all-time favorite solo in "10,000 Lovers".

Peaveys are very roadworthy, you are right. I am not against Marshalls, but I am simply not as for them as I was when I was 15 and got a 100 watt JMP reissue stack. I also got an MXR Distortion + and at the time I was mainly using my old cream Kramer Beretta with a Chandler neck. I had a great sound till the MXR went on the fritz. My dad, who is an electrical engineer, helped me repair it, but it never sounded the same. I was told this was because we did not use the right rosin core solder. Well, my next amp was by best amp, a Boogie 50. cal combo, which sounded better than the stack version and melted my Marshall. I experimented a lot with amps and guitars. I say whatever works for you. I discovered that I became a better player when I stopped using the whammy, and Jake was one of my main influences in this regard, including Shenker, Roy Buchanan, and Danny Gaton. I love the way the strings resonate when you have a non-trem bridge, like teles and Gibsons. But, again, as the great Ronnie Montrose said in an interview, "I use whatever works best." And Le Tekro is awesome! By the way, did you get your son into playing guitar? My dad got me into playing guitar. It's a good family tradition. My uncle plays drums and his son plays guitar and bass with him, and I jam with them too. We play a lot of Deep Purple, Zep, Dio, Sabbath, Rush, Ozzy, Dokken. But of course, that's when my uncle is not driving his bus 80 hours and week and I'm not working one of my two (sometimes 3!) jobs. Rock on dude.

“My parents wanted me to be the next Van Cliburn, but I wanted to be the next Van Halen.”

My dad got me into guitar, he was a Merle Haggard "nut" so some of my first influences were guys like Roy Nichols and Albert Lee, "tele-pickers". Of course growing up in Mississippi, I also had a LOT of blues in my upbringing, I always loved B.B. King (his voice as much as his playing) as well as Albert and Freddie King and Clarence "gatemouth" Brown. The first guy to really hit me from a rock guitar standpoint was Ted Nugent, just something about that Gibson Byrdland and those cranked Fenders, it probably helped that my name is Ted to, lol!!!

Really and truthfully, "Over The Mountain" was what really changed me from country to rock, not so much Randy as just the "sound" of the guitar, it was different to me. Then, right after I heard that I saw Ozzy with Jake on the MTV broadcast of the US Festival and it was over with. Jake, along with Eddie Van Halen, became far and away my biggest influences for many years.

Now, I listen to and play everything, its almost like I've come full circle as a player, good mix of all the ingredients. One of the things I always loved about Jake's playing was that I felt like he would play anything well, rock,country,jazz, I don't think it would matter. I try to reach for that also.

My son is just now getting into it, he has always been around me and my best friend, who is a monster player and he loves John Sykes and Doug Aldrich. I'm sure it helps that he got to meet Doug, I hope so, guitar kept me out of alot of trouble. I've always wanted to thank Jake for that, maybe one day I will get to.

tedeeoo wrote:My dad got me into guitar, he was a Merle Haggard "nut" so some of my first influences were guys like Roy Nichols and Albert Lee, "tele-pickers". Of course growing up in Mississippi, I also had a LOT of blues in my upbringing, I always loved B.B. King (his voice as much as his playing) as well as Albert and Freddie King and Clarence "gatemouth" Brown. The first guy to really hit me from a rock guitar standpoint was Ted Nugent, just something about that Gibson Byrdland and those cranked Fenders, it probably helped that my name is Ted to, lol!!!

Really and truthfully, "Over The Mountain" was what really changed me from country to rock, not so much Randy as just the "sound" of the guitar, it was different to me. Then, right after I heard that I saw Ozzy with Jake on the MTV broadcast of the US Festival and it was over with. Jake, along with Eddie Van Halen, became far and away my biggest influences for many years.

Now, I listen to and play everything, its almost like I've come full circle as a player, good mix of all the ingredients. One of the things I always loved about Jake's playing was that I felt like he would play anything well, rock,country,jazz, I don't think it would matter. I try to reach for that also.

My son is just now getting into it, he has always been around me and my best friend, who is a monster player and he loves John Sykes and Doug Aldrich. I'm sure it helps that he got to meet Doug, I hope so, guitar kept me out of alot of trouble. I've always wanted to thank Jake for that, maybe one day I will get to.

I was never into country but always had tremendous respect for country guitarists, including steel guitar players. As for blues, Albert Collins is one of my faves and he was a tele player. He played without a pick and he kicked major ass. I would have loved to see him in a guitar duel on the Sunset Strip in the 80s, he would have blown those bleached white boys out of the water. I have a friend who was at the US Festival in 83, Jake's first big show, and he told me a great story about it. When Ozzy came out, immediately a bunch of people started booing Jake and shouting "Randy! Randy! Randy!" but by the time Ozzy's set was done, many of the same people and more were shouting "Jake E. Lee! Jake E. Lee! Jake E. Lee!" And when Van Halen did their set, during Eddies solo, more people were shouting "Jake E. Lee!" than "Eddie!" Jake had won over a very tough audience. By the time of The Ultimate Sin tour, Jake was a bonafiede legend, known for his own style and his ability to play Randy's solos to a T, and yet still sound like Jake. Jake actually had a lot more ability as a double-picker than Randy, which I know is sacrilegious, but he could do a lot of things Randy could not. Randy was great, but Jake's style is for me. I also love what he did with Badlands. I always wondered what that third Jake/Ozzy album would have sounded like. I've never heard any consistent explanation as to why he parted ways with Ozzy. I've heard everything from Jake not showing up to rehearsals to record the follow up to Ultimate Sin, to him just not getting along with Castillo and Soussan. Another thing I heard was that Castillo and Soussan wanted to party like rock stars and Jake was not into that scene at all and that made them think he was weird. Only in rock and roll can that make you weird! If Jake had stayed with Ozzy, I think that third album with him would have sold a lot better than NRFTW which I never liked at all.

“My parents wanted me to be the next Van Cliburn, but I wanted to be the next Van Halen.”

mrmetal wrote:I have a hard time believing that any rock/metal musician in the 80s was not partying in some fashion. That was just the way it was back then.

yeah like everybody hasto ,,,, i ''was on'' pineapple juice when partying then and i was working in the rocKnroll sphere and ppl thought i was on blue-something you know ppl are diffrent some are ´more serious to make their best' and PhilSouss wasnt handling anything of ''skills''to compare to Jake that had this responsible task to keep up the music for a fallen man like Ozzy, that probly would have taken a much longer time to come back after R.R and rehabs....
Biff Byford ,SAXON ofcourse, was high on black tea btw hahahA
well i like beer though,,,,,

Fedaykin, I was never into country music either. When I was a young kid through my teen years, my mom played piano (Jerry Lee Lewis style) in a country band and I often had to go to the gigs because she didn't want to pay a babysitter. Although, not fond of the music, there was definitely talent out there and I feel you overlooked one of the greatest country pickers ever. Not only did he play guitar amazingly, he played banjo, fiddle and was just multi-talented all the way around. Check it out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oqnU83wPmfc

Being in Texas, I grew up on Country music and I love it. It is a totally different style of playing and technique. Country music is filled with talent, the video Doobie shared is one example. One thing I do like about playing in Country bands is that they do have more women in the audience.

I played a '71 Marshall JMP Super Lead 100 Watt for years. It was the definitive sound for me, especially when paired with its Greenback-loaded cabs. It was loud and heavy when cranked, and cleaned up beautifully when I backed off on the guitar volume. Thin Jake's "Streets Cry Freedom" sound and that's pretty close.

I had the privilege of having an "amp guy" who understood my amp and it's eccentricities over the years, and he kept it up and running for 15 years. When he died, I guess the mojo he gave it died too. The amp went down a week after he passed, strangely enough. It took me some time to find a new "amp guy." I did, and he was good, but the amp never sounded the same.

The drawbacks of that amp were that it was LOUD, even with the master volume mod it had. It was also very typically moody. In certain weather and climate conditions, it would just sag and you would have to really fight the amp to get that attack out of it.

I purchased a Marshall Class 5 for smaller gigs, and I loved it, but after TWO shows, the tranny fell off the chasis. I took it back and saw a Blackstar HT-5, and plugged in, and I was blown away!!

I have since upgraded to the HT Club 40 - two channels 40 Watts all tube. I couldn't be happier. After over a year in service, this amp still sounds spectacular - whether cranked onstage, at practice level, or running direct into the studio board! Gig after gig, it sounds the same and is ready to go. And, I can dial in my old Marshall sound pretty damn close. The guys from Blackstar are ex-Marshall designers, so the pedigree is there. They've simply taken their Marshall knowledge and combined that with features that they feel modern players want.

I can't say enough about them, and that's coming from a guy who had a Marshall stack behind him for 20 years. Everything they've put out sounds great and is built rock solid.

johnthebrucelee wrote:Go to your local music store and play each amp until you've found the quality of the sound you are looking for. It's kind of like going to a big party (or something similar) and picking a girl. If your amp doesn't satisfy you, then go look for another one. The same goes with the girl, if she doesn't fit your "wants", then go look for another one.